48-hour itinerary: Art & design

Itinerary

Art & design

Friday night

Start your weekend watching out-the-window projection art while you dine at Chin Chin. For after-dinner performance art, head to independent theatre fortyfivedownstairs, or for old-school live music, park yourself at Cherry Bar in AC/DC lane.

Saturday morning

Fuel up at Bowery to Williamsburg and begin your art-a-thon in the city's key gallery precinct, in and around Flinders Lane. See contemporary indigenous art at Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi and purchase locally made works from gallery and retail space, Craft.

Stroll down to Federation Square to take in the views and superb collections of Australian art at the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia. (Don't miss the NGV Shop adjacent.) If pixels are more your medium, immerse yourself in all things film, television and digital at Screen Worlds, downstairs at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI).

Saturday afternoon

Across the street on famous Hosier Lane, see an ever-changing display of stencils, paste-ups, installations and murals. Admire the artwork on the exterior walls of Movida Next Door, before stopping in for some of Frank Comorra's legendary tapas.

After lunch, take a street art walking tour to see more of the city's urban art, or keep exploring on your own, keeping an eye out for hidden gems in laneways.

Out of the laneways and into an elevator, explore Swanston Street's historic Nicholas Building, a creative hub jam-packed with studios, galleries and curiosities. Below the surface, enter subterranean Campbell Arcade to check out installations by the Platform Artists Group, one of Melbourne's longest-running artist run initiatives. While you're there, Sticky and Corky Saint Clair are well worth a look.

Back on street level, take the footbridge across to Southbank, allowing time for a stopover at floating bar Ponyfish Island.

From here, wander up to the NGV: International to see one of the southern hemisphere's most impressive collections of European, Asian, Oceanic and American art. Run your fingers through the irresistible waterwall at the front entrance and to admire the world's largest, kaleidoscopic stained glass ceiling in the Great Hall.

Take a short stroll to the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) on Sturt Street to see works by leading international and Australian contemporary artists.

Saturday night

Snap up a table on the river terrace for aperitivo hour at Fatto. It's a perfect spot for riverside views and pre-theatre dinner if a show at neigbouring The Arts Centre is on the agenda.

Sunday morning

Get a dose of Australian architecture and design history alongside your breakfast at Krimper before exploring the independent galleries tucked away in the converted warehouses of Guildford Lane.

For stylish souvenirs from local designers and makers, visit The Melbourne Shop by Lumbi in nearby Royal Arcade and Melbournalia at the top of Bourke Street. From here, catch a tram to Fitzroy and make your way to the Rose Street Artists Market for more locally designed everything.

Sunday afternoon

Lunch options around the market are endless. Go for rooftop views on-site at Young Bloods Diner, or try nearby local favourites Smith & Daughters and Jimmy Grants.

Explore as much of the arty goodness around the neighbourhood as you can. Stop at the Sutton Gallery on Brunswick Street for an eyeful of contemporary art, visit the museum-shop-without-a-museum Third Drawer Down on George Street for a fabulous collection of artful oddities, and read up at Smith Street's Happy Valley bookstore.

For a caffeine break, jostle beard to elbow with locals at compact Cafe Rosamond, or make your way to Keele Street's creative collective Compound Interest, a creative space that serves as a gallery, bar, speakeasy cinema, printing press…and cafe.

If the hour for the sundowner has arrived, join locals gracing the bar at the well-loved Grace Darling.

Sunday night

Stay on at the Grace for excellent pub fare and live music upstairs or fancy it up at one of Smith Street's notable restaurants: Saint Crispin, Easy Tiger and IDES – just for starters.

A night in this neighbourhood wouldn't be complete without a cocktail from an award-winning mixologist, so be sure to stop in the The Black Pearl or The Everleigh to soak up the inspiration before you go home.